Timetric IIC survey: Tech insurance disruptors of the future

Big data and analytics will be the biggest insurance disruptors in the next five years, according to a survey by Timetric's Insurance Intelligence Center (IIC).

The Timetric IIC survey found both technologies have also disrupted the insurance the most to date.

Social media, the Internet of Things (IoT) and automation tied jointly in second place as the technologies that will affect insurance the most in the next five years.

When asked about technologies affecting the nature of insurance in the next five years, 88% of respondents described the effect of big data and analytics as either extreme or significant.

Tech impact non-life v life

The survey found the non-life sector has experienced more of an impact from technology than life insurance.

Big data has already had an extremely large impact according to 21% of the non-life respondents, while just 10% of life insurers said the same.

The impact already felt from IoT was just as stark, with 14% of life respondents classing it as having a significant or extremely high impact, compared to 38% of non-life experts.

The survey received responses from many experts explaining their decisions. Insurers stated that advanced data and analytics have allowed their company to "drive an innovative approach of identifying marketing opportunities" such as more niche products, while the technology would provide the propensity for the faster projection of "new risks that are unknown today".

By being able to simultaneously achieve diversification and prevent risk in record time, insurers can achieve stellar results, making big data and analytics essentially unavoidable.

About the survey

The Timetric IIC survey, Technology in Insurance: Impact and Disruption was conducted in May and June 2016 by Timetric's IIC.

It surveyed around 130 industry experts across the globe, with the majority of respondents having their work focused on markets in continental Europe and the UK.

While the survey's main focus was on insurance company executives, respondents also included other market participants such as brokers, agencies, banks and technology providers, as well as consultants, auditors and other industry experts.

The participants' expertise covered all market segments: non-life, life, personal accident and health, and reinsurance. Some respondents said that their work was related to multiple segments.

For more information from the survey and Timetric's Insurance Intelligence Center, please visit www.insurance-ic.com